Napoleon said about sleep: “Six hours for a man, seven hours for a woman, eight hours for a fool.”  He may have been the Man of Destiny, but he was wrong about sleep.  It is not a waste of time. 

Modern research shows that sleep helps us absorb new information, solve problems, function much better when we are awake, and improve our mood.

Napoleon chose not to sleep a full night, others can’t get a good night’s sleep. 

It is better to use natural sleep aids rather than drugs so that you work with your body, not overwhelm it

We still don’t know exactly why we sleep.  It must be very important, because all mammals do it and thereby endanger themselves. 

After all, you are not looking out for predators when you are snoring

Physiology of Going to Sleep

There are two systems in the body that help us get to sleep, the homeostatic system and the biological clock, the circadian rhythm.

All day long the adenosine levels in the blood rise.  As they rise, we get sleepier.  As we sleep, adenosine levels drop.  This is part of our bodies’ homeostatic system. 

Coffee works on this part of us. Caffeine blocks the adenosine receptors making us more wakeful.

The set of nerves in the hypothalamus, at the base of the brain, called the suprachiasmatic nucleus is where the circadian rhythms are regulated.  It is reset by light.  So the biological clock keeps us awake while it is light out and we get tired as it gets darker. 

Melatonin, which is a great sleep aid mentioned in a previous post, regulates our circadian rhythm. The pineal gland makes most of the melatonin at night. More melatonin, more sleep.

Since both the homeostatic system and the biological clock affect sleep and wakefulness, it is best to align them.  Wake up when it is light out and sleep as it gets dark.  This is why night workers have such a hard time getting used to their shift.

Here’s the effect on us when we are sleep deprived.

Cognitive Performance and Mood

• After 1 night not sleeping, subjects scored lower on tests of judgment, memory, and reaction time.

• Getting less than seven hours per night for seven nights leads to worse motor skills and impair alertness.

• University of Pennsylvania researchers allowed subjects only four and a half hours of sleep a night for a week.  As the week wore on, the subjects scored lower and lower for mood and vigor.  We get irritable, angry, sad, and anxious without sleep.

Hormones and Metabolism

• Human growth hormone, hGH, is made when we sleep.  It builds bone when we are young and muscle mass, collagen for cartilage, and breaks down fat, throughout life.  Decreased slow wave sleep in young men leads to less growth hormone production. Less hGH production increases the ratio of fat to muscle in our body. Not what we want.

• Cortisol, stress hormone, production by the adrenal glands declines as we sleep. 

Obesity and Diabetes

• Perfectly healthy subjects allowed to sleep 4 hrs per night for 6 nights looked like pre-diabetics.  They were not able to process sugar efficiently.

• Sleep deprivation reduces leptin level. Leptin is involved in metabolizing carbs.  Lower leptin levels makes us crave carbs, no matter how much we eat. Another connection between obesity and sleep deprivation.

I find that if I go to sleep before I get really tired, I don’t crave ice cream.

Immune System and Sleep

I always try to sleep as much as possible when I feel ill.  Research shows that the immune system is stronger after sleeping.  Flu shots were given to volunteers who slept only four hours for four nights straight and to subjects who got a full night’s sleep.

Ten days later, the well rested subjects had twice the number of flu fighting antibodies than the sleep deprived.

Natural Sleep Aids

Over the counter anti histamines help you get to sleep, but make you groggy the next day.  

The most natural solution is the take melatonin, the body processes it all the time.

There is no morning grogginess.  There are no side effects.

EZDoze is just melatonin and some mint for flavor.

Let me know how it works.